from the a-bit-late,-but... dept

You may recall the story we had earlier this week about Canadian University OCAD requiring students in an art history class to buy a $180 book that didn't even have any images, because they couldn't properly license them. Instead, it had big white boxes and students were expected to go online to see the right images. Beyond the ridiculousness of the situation itself, it was clear that there would be no resale value at all for the book.

OCAD got in touch to let us know that they've now put out a statement on the situation (pdf) in which they admit that the situation was far from ideal, and they're taking steps to deal with it. The dean claims to have met with the publisher, Pearson, who "was highly responsive." That's not too surprising, given just how much attention that original story got. They must have sensed that being on the wrong side of this one would not end well. The plan now:

Guaranteed end-of-term buy-back of the custom text (dollar amount to be announced next week); they want to take it out of circulation.

Provision (free) of print copies of the Stokstad text (which contains the vast majority of missing images) to all students who have purchased the reader, to use as a print-based cross-reference; these would be the relevant volumes of the portable version of Stokstad (much easier to carry) – details on how this will roll out next week.

The pricing on the buyback may still be a concern, but clearly the loud outcry and vast internet interest in the situation resulted in the university and the publisher deciding that this whole thing was a mistake. They probably should have realized that before pushing an art history book that had no images, but at least they're trying to make it right.